Road Home
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
A Printz Award Honor Book
A Stonewall Book Award Honor Book
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of the Year
Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
This final, essential chapter in Rex Ogle’s memoir trilogy recounts being forced from his home and living on the streets after his father discovered he was gay.
When Rex was outed the summer after he graduated high school, his father gave him a choice: he could stay at home, find a girlfriend, and attend church twice a week, or he could be gay—and leave. Rex left, driving toward the only other gay man he knew and a toxic relationship that would ultimately leave him homeless and desperate on the streets of New Orleans.
Here, Rex tells the story of his coming out and his father’s rejection of his identity, navigating abuse and survival on the streets. Road Home is a devastating and incandescent reflection on Rex’s hunger—for food, for love, and for a place to call home—completing the trilogy of memoirs that began with the award-winning Free Lunch.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1998, 17-year-old Ogle plans to work at Walmart until college in the fall. But when his stepsister tells their father she suspects Ogle is gay, neither teen anticipates his intense and cruel ultimatum: Ogle must suppress his burgeoning queer identity or leave home. With a duffle bag, a backpack, an Anne Rice novel, and his pickup truck, Ogle flees Alabama for New Orleans, where he seeks out Russell, an older gay man he met while on a beach trip. At first their connection seems like a boon: Russell invites Ogle to stay, becomes his first queer relationship, and introduces him to a life outside of the closet. Their power imbalance soon becomes apparent, however, when Russell sexually assaults Ogle, claiming his body as payment for his hospitality, an event that prompts Ogle to escape and fend for himself. The author continues his memoir series with the same brutal yet hopeful perspective as Free Lunch and Punching Bag. Searingly honest text never shies away from grim details surrounding Ogle's assault and houselessness, and an author's note and afterword provide context and a realistic yet satisfying conclusion to this stunning addition to Ogle's autobiographical work. Ages 14–up.
